Saving up

TRANSCRIPT

My first job was when I was fifteen, I was still at school and it was work experience. We had to do two weeks’ work experience to give us a taste for work, so I was given the opportunity to work in a big supermarket and I worked in the furniture department of that supermarket. It was probably the longest two weeks of my life, it was just so boring. It was mind-numbingly dull. Most of the time it was absolutely dead in there and there was nothing for me to do. I’ve never had such a boring job since, fortunately.

I did quite a few other part-time jobs though when I was a student. I worked as a barman a couple of times, I worked in a couple of factories, I worked in a library, I worked in an amusement park and I even sold ice cream on the beach for two summers! The experience of working and earning a weekly wage was important, even if the jobs were so rubbish.

My main reason for doing these jobs was because I was saving up to buy a car. I tried to put some money away each week so at the end of the year I would have enough money to buy an old, second-hand car. I had to cut back on all other expenses though so I could afford a car. My workmates just waited for payday and then went on a spending spree. I tried to stick to a budget so I didn’t blow all my hard-earned cash. Anyway, I eventually got the car, but the problem is that cars are so expensive to run. I always had to fork out for something that had gone wrong and needed to be fixed, so after a while I flogged the car and got a bike instead!

VOCABULARY

give us a taste for– let you try something to see if you like itmind-numbingly dull– incredibly boring, so boring your brain goes to sleepabsolutely dead– a place with no people, no atmosphere at all, very boringearning a weekly wage– getting paid every weeksaving up– keeping some money to use laterput some money away– keep some money to use latersecond-hand– used, not newcut back on– reduce, do something less, saveafford– have enough money for something you need to buyworkmates– colleagues in your jobgo on a spending spree– spend or waste a lot of money in a short timestick to a budget– try to spend only a limited amount of moneyblow all my hard-earned cash– waste all the money I worked hard to getfork out for– find a lot of money to spend on something I don’t want to pay forflogged(Br. slang) – sell something quickly or cheaply